Chinese overseas tourism turns to quality

With increasing frequency of travel and mature shopping behavior, Chinese tourists have gradually abandoned impulsive consumption and more concerned about the quality than quantity of tourism consumption, said Dai Bin, president of China Tourism Academy in his article Chinese overseas tourism turns to quality.

An increasing number of Chinese tourists have shifted focus to experiencing local culture and lifestyle while traveling - visiting museums, and natural and cultural heritage sites, Dai added.

The expert predicted that with more travel and development of communication infrastructure along with mobile payment, tourism will see scaled up demand for public services and a better business environment during offshore travel. Personalized and customized tourism will eventually enter a mature period.

The full text of the article is as follows:

Chinese formed the largest number of visitors to Japan in 2018, according to a report released by Japan Tourism Agency and Japan National Tourism Organization.

Japan received a record number of over 8 million Chinese last year.

The Japanese buzzword "bakugai," which translates to explosive shopping spree, is attributed to Chinese tourists. However, last year "bakugai" lost some of its intensity.

In fact, the overall consumption behavior of China's outbound tourists has undergone significant change in the past year, not only in Japan, but in all other countries and regions.

A panel survey conducted by China Tourism Academy reveals that Chinese tourists spent more on food, accommodation, as well as culture and entertainment during travel in 2018. The three items occupied 14, 21 and 24 percent respectively of the total consumption, with remarkable year-on-year growth.

Meanwhile, the proportion of conspicuous consumption, impulsive buying behavior, and Daigou (overseas surrogate shopper) slumped to 16 percent from 34.

Tremendous changes have taken place in the past four decades of reform and opening-up. Chinese people cared more about a full stomach and a warm home 40 years ago; possessing spare money for travel was a fancy wish.

No longer a luxury, trips abroad have become fairly common. Chinese people are now more concerned about the quality than quantity of tourism consumption.

With increasing frequency of travel and mature shopping behavior, Chinese tourists have gradually abandoned impulsive consumption and begun to make purchase decisions on the basis of their needs and the size of their pockets.

Favorable domestic policy and consumption environment have also contributed to decreasing overseas shopping. The offshore duty-free policy of Hainan Province and the duty-free stores at airports and ports have provided customers with multiple choices and convenient environment, thus offering people more to choose from inside the country.

In addition, with economic development, Chinese manufacturing and service sectors have paid extra attention to product quality. Varied quality goods produced in China with lower prices have become reasonable alternatives to foreign merchandise.

With money saved from shopping, an increasing number of Chinese tourists have shifted focus to experiencing local culture and lifestyle while traveling - visiting museums, and natural and cultural heritage sites. As a Chinese saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Such change is conducive to improvement in quality of life.

In the foreseeable future, the outbound tourism market will continue to see growth, but the decrease in shopping will be irreversible. With more travel and development of communication infrastructure along with mobile payment, tourism will see scaled up demand for public services and a better business environment during offshore travel. Personalized and customized tourism will eventually enter a mature period.

This is an era of booming markets, restructured business models and upgraded industrial landscapes. Only quality overseas tourist destinations will be chosen by tourists. And only resource-rich travel agents with technological innovation to back up their business can survive and develop.

Those involved in getting around regulations, and resorting to unethical business practices will be eliminated by  market forces sooner or later.